


No one's perfect. But no one's worthless.

by DingyAntelope58



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Runaways (TV 2017), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bilingual Peter Parker, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gaelic Gertrude Yorkes, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Italian Chase Stein, Italian Peter Parker, Italian Tony Stark, Karolina Dean needs a hug, Multi, Out of Character Peter Parker, Underage Drinking, dark Alex Wilder, depressed Alex Wilder, gert is a little anxious cookie that feels a lot and i love her, gratuitous references to Black Panther album, he's just more serious and older and more exhausted with life than Homecoming, i cant tag, none of the runaways are straight, she's irish okay, wlw, yorkes is an irish last name it just makes sense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23553604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DingyAntelope58/pseuds/DingyAntelope58
Summary: "You're criminals" he sneers, arm tightly locked around Chase's throat. Gert is visibly panicking in the corner, Molly is pulling the webbing off her arm and Alex is glaring at him, but it's too soft and empathetic to be scary to anyone."And you aren't?" he retorts. "We just want to talk to you, please" Alex insists. The boy's eyes soften, changing from their dark brown glare to a gentle hazel, curious but wary. Karolina still has a glowing arm aimed at his chest and Nico fixes the vigilante with a cold and murderous expression. The 7 people are locked in an intense staring match and the only noise is Chase's gasps for breath.~~~All the chapter titles are lyrics from the Black Panther album because oh my god Kendrick Lamar can weave 4 metaphors into an 8 line sentence and that album was part of my upbringing.THIS FIC IS NOT BEING CONTINUED BECAUSE I MAY HAVE LOST THE WORD DOCUMENT WITH THE REST OF IT SO SORRY GUYS I MIGHT COME BACK BUT THAT'S UNLIKELY
Relationships: Chase Stein/Gertrude Yorkes, Karolina Dean/Nico Minoru, Molly Hayes | Molly Hernandez & Gertrude Yorkes, Peter Parker & Runaways Team, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 14
Kudos: 43





	1. When you know what you got, sacrifice ain't that hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex has one way to describe how he feels. It's bent. Bent so far it looks broken, but that's not the same thing. And thing's still work after you bend them. They still lift weight, and support, and aid.
> 
> So through the haze of trauma, depression and confusion (the exhaustion isn't affecting him, which is helpful and concerning) Alex is going to do something with his bent self. He's going to get his friends to safety.

“I haven’t slept in 19 mcfucking hours” Molly groaned, punching the boulder next to her. It cracked open with a thump and she turned to stare at it. “That’s new” she said blankly. Gert grunted an agreement, too exhausted to pull anyone up on their swearing.

The group sat in a small clearing between thick-trunked trees. The deep grooves leading towards the road had been meticulously hidden by leaves, and the dipping weight of the branches disguised the vehicle enough that anyone from the road 170 yards away couldn’t see it. Molly was draped over the same boulder she had destroyed, Chase had climbed onto the roof of the van and anxiously watched the road with a pair of binoculars pulled from the glove box. Alex was scratching his face in frustration as he stared at the stolen laptop. Karolina was staring out of the tree line to a view of a river with a frown unnaturally covering her face.

“Alex, we’ve been sitting here for five hours and it’s going to be dark soon. What are you doing that requires the park rangers Wi-Fi?” Nico asked him, scraping a small pebble along the blade of her pocket knife. Karolina deliberately focused on anything other than the sound of metal tinkling and scraping.

“I am talking to a friend in NYC” he sighed. Karolina turned and took a deep breath to clear her foggy mind. Her head felt heavy and she knew she needed sleep, but that didn’t seem like an option at the moment.

“Why?” Gert asked, eyes closed as she leaned against the side of the van. Old Lace was hidden inside so she wasn’t creeping the fuck out of the group.

“Because he works for Tony Stark. We get him to contact Stark, who we can talk to who can then destroy PRIDE for us” he explained in exasperation. “Simple geometry” he said in a deep voice.

“What?” Molly said at the sky, far too lazy and tired to look at him.

“You wouldn’t get it” he sighed. “If he says yes, then we’re gonna get a bus from Las Vegas to NYC” the sentence was firm, more like an order than a suggestion.

“Old Lace?” Gert pointed out.

“She can’t get on the bus, but we’ll let her go. She’ll find her way back to wherever we are like last time” Alex reassured as she breathed out slightly

“The nearest place we can get on the bus is a 45 minute drive” he grunted, closing the laptop he stole from the unwitting mechanic and walking to the van. As soon as he opened the back doors, Old Lace shoved his nose into him, demanding pats. Alex yelped quietly, scratching the rough and stony skin. It reminded him of years ago when he had a behind the scenes tour of the zoo and held the small crocodile, covered in armoured disks and leathery skin.

“She’s happy” Gert said quietly as she climbed into the passenger seat. Alex smiled softly at her, which was returned with an anxious smile. Alex took the drivers spot and carefully pressed down on the accelerator. As it moved onto the empty mountain road, a tiny camera on the telephone pole nearby recorded the movement.


	2. Tell me who's gon' save me from myself, when this life is all I know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter doesn't know what to do. Because no matter how many criminals he has arrested, how many times he upgrades his suit or how many people he saves, the repetition smacks him in the face. Every week is a line he can cross off his calendar before MIT, a step closer to a goal that sits fixed in time. He's sniffing in spots he shouldn't, looking into international cocaine smuggling and national meth distribution and finally seeking his teeth into the slavery business and the bastards that run it.
> 
> Peter wants a real mission, and oh boy does Tony have something exciting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter dropped out of school because he is a clever boi and has to wait a year before he goes to university.

Peter Parker groaned as he turned to the shiny new mobile phone which buzzed loudly. Carefully putting the precision tweezers down, he turned away from the slightly dismantled Spider-Man suit and grabbed the phone. Removing his gloves and goggles, he answered the call.

“Hello, this is Peter Parker speaking” he greeted in the manner May taught him.

“Wonderful manners” he smiled brightly at the voice and walked over to the mini-fridge of his Chinatown apartment. “Have you turned on a TV recently?” Tony said urgently before Peter could say hello. He grabbed a Pepsi can and opened it as he walked towards the small TV. The cosy studio apartment in studio had been a gift from Mr Stark after he left high school early, with a convenient fire escape to utilise his vigilante activities. Turning the TV on with the remote, he stared at the infomercial in confusion.

“I’m assuming you’re not calling over a sale on handheld vacuum cleaners?” he said as Tony laughed dryly.

“Yeah yeah very funny. Go to NBC right now” he instructed as Peter flicked through the channels. The report said breaking news, and showed a picture of seven teenagers, 5 circled in red. The words zooming past at the bottom said that the five had murdered a girl called Destiny, and that Molly Hernandez had been kidnapped. The face that instantly hit him was Karolina Dean.

“Isn’t she on those ads for that church?” he asked.

“You mean the crazy Gibborim movement that violates about 6 international human rights laws and has enough military resources to overthrow the LAPD?” The same one” he said rhetorically and Peter stared at another face on the screen.

“Chase Stein… Stein Stein Stein… son of Victor Stein?” Peter asked. Tony hummed an answer through the phone as he most likely downed another cup of coffee. “Why did you call me about this?” he said, grabbing a packet of plain noodles, jar of onion shallots and a can of corn from the pantry.

“I’m in the redevelopment stages of FRIDAY, a more complex personality and greater processing power, so I can’t do any investigations” Tony explained. “Also, Ross is being a huge dickweasel about everything, and if I tried to access any government records, he’d get notified” Tony added bitterly. Peter frowned in sympathy and furrowed his brow.

“So you want me to use Karen to look through files and track their movements?” he asked. Tony grunted aloud as Pete pulled out the frozen peas and put a boiling pot of water on the stove.

“That’s cool Mr Stark. I’ll finish my suit upgrading and have dinner and then I’ll start work” he promised before saying goodbye and ending call. He added the still fresh roast chicken to the pot and stirred it carefully. His phone beeped again and he looked at the Discord notification. Opening the app, he stared at the message in confusion.

 **AV_Club_President** : hey pancakes, it’s been awhile.

 **Bisexual-Pancakes** : oh hey! I was kinda worried about you, there hadn’t been any contact for a while.

 **AV_Club_President** : sorry about that

 **Bisexual-Pancakes** : it’s cool. What’s up?

 **AV_Club_President** : this is gonna sound rude, but i need a favour

 **Bisexual-Pancakes** : okay, what’s the tea sis?

 **AV_Club_President** : so my friends and i got in a fight with our parents. and we need somewhere to stay for a bit until it blows over

 **Bisexual-Pancakes** : oh  
and you want to stay at my place I’m guessing

 **AV_Club_President** : if we could

 **Bisexual-Pancakes** : aren’t you in LA right now?

 **AV_Club_President** : no. we were on holiday in Penn. theres 6 of us

 **Bisexual-Pancakes** : okay. I’ll give you my address and you can stay there while I find you a new place.

 **AV_Club_President** : thanks pancakes. i appreciate it.

Peter put down the phone and poured the noodles into a black bowl with an Avengers logo printed in cracked red paint on the side. As he out and looked outside the small window to the sparkling lights across the Hudson, he pondered about President. They had never shared names, only pronouns, but Peter had always felt something was big about him. It could be the Spider-Sense, or his paranoia, but he thought that something big had happened. His laptop connected by usb cable to the suit beeped, and he turned around to walk over to it.


	3. Ain't no catchin' up, I don't rest enough, I don't plan for luck, I keep workin' hard, who keep blessin' us?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If his friends had seen what he saw in that hunting lodge, it would haunt them forever. If they'd known what he had done, they'd have sent him to fend for himself.
> 
> Physically washing the blood off his hands made it much easier to process what he'd done. But if he looked closely, he could see the red clumped under the nails, like a stubborn ghost. But karma could be an even bigger bitch than Leslie Dean, so he ignored the dark nagging in his brain and focused on his mission.
> 
> Get his friends to safety. Make sure they can one day live a normal life. And finding a way to tell Pancakes the truth.

“He knows Tony Stark?” Karolina asked, eyebrow raised in suspicion. Alex nodded wearily, staring at the floor in an exhausted daze.

“Wow. I thought this was a good plan” Nico grumbled sarcastically, leaning her head on Karolina’s shoulder with her eyes closed.

“How do you even know that he knows Tony Stark?” Karolina asked him. Molly was passed out, back pressed to Gert’s side. The purple-haired girl herself was asleep, leaning against the bus window, using her large jacket to cover the two of them (mostly Molly). Chase had the two seats next to Gert and Molly, completely slumped in his seat, and Alex would have been concerned that he was alive if it wasn’t for the steady fall and rise of his chest and occasional snuffle.

“Do you have a better one?” he sighed wearily. ”Anyway, he’s sent me enough pictures of Tony Stark passed out at his desk and Sam Wilson covered with glitter that I think he’s the real deal” Nico pressed her lips into a thin line, face stripped of makeup. When they researched bus prices, it counted up to just enough money for them. After carefully buying the tickets and avoiding cameras, they had ditched the van in woodland and then boarded the bus.

“So we get off at Philadelphia. And we get off this Greyhound service and onto the Peter Pan one. Then we walk to NYC Chinatown where he lives. The police outside of LA are unlikely to be actively searching for us, so as long as we stay out of really public spaces, we should be good. We walk to this address” he instructed, handing a burner phone and $50 to Karolina. She stared at the items in shock before turning to Nico, who had a suspicious expression.

“How did you get this?” she asked, staring at him dubiously.

“I don’t sleep much. While all of you were napping, I took a walk and found this big hunting lodge full of people with automatic pistols. I stole a big wad of $100 dollar bills from the office” he smirked.

“What do you mean ‘you don’t sleep much’?” Nico asked suspiciously.

“Why lay for hours in a state of unconsciousness when you can learn about the Howe Island stick insects, the best peanut butter recipe on earth and read about the US government’s strategic spread of cocaine in black-suburban communities?” he smiled before he noticed Nico and Karolina’s weirded out expressions.

“Wow, way to judge the insomniac” he grumbled under his breath.

“We are now approaching the Utah/California border” the crackly sitcom called out in a robotic voice. Alex leaned forward and rested his forehead on the seat in front, sighing deeply. He closed his eyes, willing his brain into shutdown so he could recharge for a few hours. He felt like he was inhaling a powerful sedative, because a few seconds later he lost the function of his hands.

~~~  
  


_Alex stared at the wrench. It was a deep grey, a heavy weight on his conscience and as he picked it up, that changed to his hand. There was a cracking noise as agonising pain bloomed in the back of his head, and he cried out as the end of the wrench was covered in dark red blood and tiny flecks of bone and dandruff. There was a bright red spatter on the dark oak desk beside him, but there was no lurch in his stomach, or bile rising in his throat. It was just blood, a bodily function, a symbol of violence. He turned, and the body of the guard with a MAC-10 at the wooden ca was sprawled on the gbinround and Alex stood behind him, blood on his own wrench trickling down and covering his hand. He looked at Alex, and his eyes were pitch black, the murder scene reflected in them. He revealed razor sharp teeth with a toothy grin. They were stained with blood, but gold peeked out from the layer of red liquid._

_“You’re lying” he snarled, slowly walking towards Alex. His posture was too straight, like the blade of a knife that never yielded._

_“I haven’t even spoken” Alex snapped back._

_“Not verbally” the darker Alex said. Even his clothes were darker, as he wore nothing more than black skinny jeans, a pitch black hoodie and (surprise) black Vans. ”To yourself” he smirked, and Alex felt hot anger clogging his throat._

_“What do you know?” Alex said defensively._

_“I know enough” the nightmare smirked, and Alex’s gaze flitted to the slumped body. As though time was moving faster, the body started to rot and dissolved into the gaps of the dark brown floorboards. Alex looked away and cleared his throat. “When you shot Andre, you convinced yourself that you had to. That it was a matter of life and death, and the only option was to put a bullet in his shoulder” he continued, and Alex’s vision twirled and he fell to the floor, gasping for breath, and the scene had changed to a familiar woodland. The metal wreckage of an AT-AT lay strewn across the forest floor, and half the foliage and ground was furiously lit ablaze. He squinted through the smoke. Amy was walking through the flames, eyes a pure, sparkling white. A whole galaxy was reflected in them, and she stared at Alex._

_“You. You did this” she whispered, as Alex stumbled backwards._

_“N-no, I didn’t, you didn’t kill yourself!” he shouted in desperation as she slowly walked towards him, white floral dress blowing in the wind. Scrambling away, he fell with a yelp into a large ditch. Standing up, the scene again changed, to the basement of the Wilder residence, where Andre was being loaded into a box._

_“Admit it. You enjoy it. The violence” the distorted, insidious version of him whispered in his ear. As he turned, he found no one but his friends a few feet away, standing in a field. He was met with disappointed and harsh stares._

_“I thought I was a freak, a monster, but you’re sick” Molly spat, her words like a stinging venom._

_“How could you? You’re a psychopath, a murderous asshole” Karolina growled, nose turned up at him._

_“You’re a liar and you can’t be trusted. You’re selfish and arrogant” Nico said firmly, staff held tightly in her hand._

_“No! I’m not! Every horrible thing I’ve done was for you!” he insisted, even as the ground beneath his feet crumbled, putting him beneath his friends. His best friends. The people he cared for most. His family._

_“Maybe we never wanted your help” Chase said, Fistigons glowing as he clenched his fist._

_“We’re better off without you” Gert hissed, her eyes red and slit-pupiled like the animal she controlled._

_“NO. LET ME STAY, I NEED YOU” he screamed as he finally fell down, the people he loved sentencing him to a dark future._

“Alex?” a voice called out gently as he opened his eyes gently. Karolina was looking at him with a concerned expression.

“What?” he snapped, backing away from her.

“Y-you fell asleep, and you were mumbling a bit” she whispered and although she couldn’t see it, his eyes widened in terror.

“What’d I say?” he asked, pretending to be casual about it.

“I dunno, but you sounded scared. Is everything alright?” she said, worry carved into her features. Alex felt a sharp aching pain in his gut and huffed.

“I’m fine. Where are we now?” he asked, brushing away the question.

“We’re near Colorado” Gert grumbled, staring out the window with an exhausted and annoyed expression. The sky was a deep grey, and the digital clock near where the bus driver sat said 6:04 am. Alex turned to look out his own window, which displayed a roadside of pine trees and rocky ground.

“It’s only a matter of time before they find out” the voice whispered darkly in the back of his skull. He scrunched his nose up and sighed quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So turns out Alex is badass and is going insane with guilt lmao


	4. I keep the piece on me, I leave you puzzled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter Parker is looking through every bit of information he can get his hands on. School marks, bank account transactions, social media posts. He's illegally dropping his personal hacking programs in the Department of Education, Wizard and the LAPD. Every 5 seconds of security footage with their faces visible confuses him even more.
> 
> Why did five of the richest kids in California kill one girl and kidnap the other?
> 
> And why is so much being hidden behind error messages?

Peter Parker opened his eyes slowly and stared at the beeping alarm clock on his dresser. Dragging himself out of bed with a frustrated grunt, he suddenly tripped on the sheets that tangled his legs. He hit the floor with a yelp, staring at the still ringing clock from the floor. Removing himself from the huge net of cotton, he angrily pushed the button, sighing as the beeping stopped.

Stomping into the kitchen of his apartment, he flicked the on button for the coffee machine and walked over to his laptop. _Download 97% complete_ the machine taunted as he frowned at it. He slid two slices of bread into the toaster and started frying some eggs, occasionally sending unimpressed glances to his desk, strewn with technology, the Spider-Man suit (mostly disassembled) and his computer. After he ate his large breakfast, he took out a bag of chips and ate as he watched the download complete. _Download completed, suit ready for operation_ the screen read. Peter grinned and resealed the mask before pulling it on.

“ _Good morning, Peter_ ” Karen said in a far more cheery and humanised voice than her first version.

“Good morning to you to, Karen” he smiled. Sitting down in his chair, he rested his feet on the padded stool in front of his chair. He lifted the mouth of the mask and stuffed a handful of chips in his mouth.

“ _Where would you like to go today, Peter? Although I must report that I am intercepting a phone call that’s topic is an exchange of cocaine in 4 days’ time at 2am on E 38th street in Manhattan_ ” Karen said as Peter whistled, impressed by the upgrades in surveillance capability that Mr Stark had sent him.

“Well Karen, I have an important task, although do add that deal to my calendar” he said.

“ _Of course Peter. What is this important task you speak of?_ ” she asked.

“I want you to find everything you can about 6 people” he said, flicking through his phone and playing his Detective Playlist he created last night.

“ _Your wish is my command_ ” Karen joked in a posh voice as Peter smiled again.

~~~

Peter wanted to drill a hole into the back of his skull. It was now 3am, his 27h hour work playlist was getting a little less interesting, his blinds were drawn, and he was barely halfway through this investigation.

“SO” he said loudly, downing his sixth cup of coffee.

“ _Peter, I would recommend that you stop drinking caffeinated drinks_ ” Karen helpfully supplied. Peter sighed and walked over to

the kettle, tapping the on button and grabbing the tin of decaf teabags from the shelf above the ‘coffee nook’ as Ned called it.  
“Okay. Let’s recap” he sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “This girl, Destiny Gonzalez, was a mother of one child. She left her home only days before she died, and was taken in by the Church of Gibborim” he said.

“ _Correct_ ” Karen reassured as Peter waited for the kettle to finish boiling.

“She disappeared for two days and then washed up on an LA beach, dead as a door nail” Peter continued. He grabbed the bottle of Russian Standard vodka from the shelf and placed it on the bench, incredibly exhausted.

“ _Why are you taking the alcohol Mr Stark gave you for cleaning wounds? I don’t detect any physical damage that requires sterilisation_ ” Karen said obliviously.

“I’m going to put half a shot in my tea” he huffed. “Anyway, then they kidnap Molly Hernandez and are accused of murdering Destiny” he explained, mostly to himself.

“ _Peter, I would highly recommend against putting an alcoholic drink in your tea_ ” Karen suggested firmly.

“Cool” he said, ignoring her entirely as he slammed down the vodka tea. “I assume each person had a role. Dean, well she’s a symbol of the Gibb, and a powerful and influential person in the church. She could get Destiny to trust her easily. Minoru, has a great many resources and technological know-how, and judging by her school detentions, isn’t afraid to get blood on her hands” he rambled, walking back to his desk. He pulled the mask off and connected it to his laptop. A small projector powered up, as several files floated in the air before him.

“Stein, shows huge amount of engineering and technological potential, and could help erase records that incriminated them. Yorkes, seems strange to kidnap a younger sibling, but would by default have her trust. I’m going to look into that tomo- later today. Wilder? Considerable money and power, his mom is a very powerful lawyer, and his STEM related school marks are incredible” he finished his rant. Peter squinted at the photos of each fugitive, head resting on his chin.

“I have a when, a where, a who, and I’ve mostly got the how,” he whispered, “But why you did is the real deal”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> peter is around 18 in this, and Mr Stark did actually give him some very expensive vodka for injuries because he can't parent even tho he tries


End file.
